Grandpa Harston decided to organize a special trip for grandkids on a Disney Cruise and we were able to go as a family. It was a long awaited and much enjoyed adventure and here is a long post full of the many fun photos.
At Sunday dinner at Amy's before we left, Mickey and Minnie called to get the kids excited.
Maren did pretty well on the drive.
We took two days on the way there and played a little in St. George and other spots.
We fit in General Conference and visiting the beach in San Diego on Saturday.
The only drawback with this visit was that when it was time to leave we realized that I dropped Jordan's glasses into the ocean. This was so devastating because we were just beginning our vacation and hoped that Jordan would be able to see some amazing things on the cruise.
We have one or two other photos of the kids on this bench from visits in years past.
We stopped at a popular taco place near the beach.
Sunday morning was time to board and disembark. Amazing to meet dad and all my sisters at the park across from the port!
The lucky grandkids
We did some exploring and had dinner on our first evening.
screen shots of our 4 day itinerary.
We used the Disney Cruise app to communicate and see events on board.
Jordan had to borrow Michael's glasses while he wore contacts. It gave me some peace of mind to be able to call our eye doctor who is a close family friend before we left.
Favorite foods were mac and cheese, fries, jello, watermelon and corn on the cob. The buffets were nice for the kids.
Dinners were in the restaurants at our table with the Thomas' and one special server. It was fun to get to know him a little and I wish I could remember his name to post. I loved trying new dishes at these dinners, but the long waits were hard for our younger kiddos.
We had three tables for our whole group and Michael, Jordan, and Tessa were usually seated with cousins and Grandpa. The restaurant in this photo was probably the fanciest. The theme was something about King Triton from Little mermaid and they served French and other cuisine. We usually tried to dress up for dinner.
I need to put a note about the special Disney touches. Kids could order a Mickey ice cream bar for dessert anytime and sometimes the servers would squeeze ketchup into a Mickey face with two ears.
Tessa LOVED being able to roam with cousins and have her own room key. We only lost track of them most of the time.
Leisel reminded me that she had a fever the first couple days of the cruse, but she tried to squeeze all the fun out that she could.
Jenny took Jonathan along for some fun time with Asher.
ahhhh...
(I'm posting this a year late while in quarantine for Covid-19. Boy does this look nice!)
It was so nice to run into cousins and grandpa everywhere throughout the day.
The kids loved the kids clubs. Here are the handwashing stations as they checked in. There were constant activities and visitors with them. Jonathan will never forget when Spiderman came. I don't have photos of the hangout Tween/Teen zones for the older kids.
Here's our cozy cabin with queen bed and a bunk.
The tiny tub
Our steward was such a nice guy.
a craft activity scheduled throughout the day while we waited for dinner or a show.
This was the theatre where the kids watched Mary Poppins Returns and Dumbo and a few other shows. It was a good option on our day at sea when it was cold and blustery on deck.
We did wait in line for a couple character meetings.
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One night was a pirate celebration.
Then we had a day to get off the cruise ship and visit Cabos San Lucas and another day in Ensenada.
Rachel and Rob saved the day because I didn't have my documents in order to be able to take Jonathan off the ship. One of the hoops we had to jump through was that Jonathan was officially in their room. It was an incredible tender mercy that I was able to run into them.
They helped us charter a little boat with a glass bottom to cross to the beach and Rob had cell service that allowed us to connect with the rest of the group. What a miracle.
Jared and the boys had left on a snorkle excursion, so I don't have photos of them in Los Cabos.
Grandpa set our group up with a spot to relax and stay out of the sun.
The kids played and bought a few things from the millions of locals selling their fares.
Then we took a boat together to see the arch and other sights along the coast.
Grandpa led our group on an outing for the second day at port to Ensenada. We had a van tour of the city and then went to a beach.
I loved having Renee's sister in law's sister meet us. I know Sariah pretty well, so it was good to get to know her family better. She has 4 kids including one Maren's age and one Jonathan's age.
Grandpa bought a few coconuts with fresh milk. They sprinkled the chili seasoning on the meat to eat afterward. Fun tastes of Mexico too!
The boys walked to the city with me and we looked for a few souvenirs.
This was dinner at Tiana's place from Princess and the Frog
I don't have photos of the musical performers and shows we were able to see including the Frozen Spectacular. Those were highlights.
This restaurant was the Animator's Palate. We got a big group photo.
Goodbye Disney Wonder!
Back in San Diego, Amy and I jogged to the parking lot where we left our cars.
Dad drove home with us and we made it in a day. We were grateful for his help, because Jared had a bad case of strep throat and had barely made it through the week.
